Electric-lighting fixture



Sept- 3, 1929- E.` c WHITE 1,727,149

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed Aug. 11, 1926 Wl "l INVENTQR PatentedSept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST CANTELO WHITE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., .ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO R.FEN- TON FISHER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-LIGHTIN G Y FIXTURE.

Application filed August 11, 1926.

My invention relates to the construction of all types of electriclighting fixtures which include or support a lamp socket and which areadapted to be installed on electric outlets and other places wheredefinite provisions for attachment have been made.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 25,987 filed April 27th, 1925, Idescribe a method of constructing lighting fixtures of insulatingmaterial and supporting same on an electric outlet by means of a plate.One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a moresimplified construction, to meet a wider range of outlet box conditionsand to eliminate the necessity for using a plate or bridge. Anotherobject is to reduce the cost of producing the contemplated types ofelectric lighting .fixtures by providing means integral with the body orwall-plate of the fixture for attachment to a variety of differentoutlet boxes and for concealing whatever portion of the said means isnot utilized in any particular fixture. A further purpose is to utilizestandard socket-interiors with a minimum number of additional parts toform a complete fixture of the nature de-- the lamp and socket-interiorshown in sidev elevation and a portion of the shade cut away; Fig. 3 isthe side view of the same fixture as in Fig. 1 omitting the shade, partof the shade holder and the attaching screws; Fig. 4 is the top View ofthe fixture shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is the side view of thesocketinterior only with the leading-in wires attached thereto; Fig. 6is the cross section of the xture body or plate on the line A-A of Fig.4; 7 is the cross section of the socket cover on the line A--A of Fig.4; Fig. 8 is the cross section of the said plate and socket cover on theline B--B of Fig. 4, assembled together with the socket-interior shownin side elevation; Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross sec- Seral No. '128,537.

tion of a portion of the said plate on the line A-A of Fig. 4.

In carrying out my invention according to the illustratedembodimentthereof I provide a body 1 and a socket cover 2 of moulded insulatingmaterial and a standard socketinterior 3 having a metallic screw-shell 4a center contact 5 binding screws 6, 6 and a socket body 7 formed withoppositely disposed lugs 8, 8.

The fixture body 1 is provided with a circular opening 9 through whichthe socketinterior 4 may be inserted from above but small enough toprevent passage therethrough of the oppositely disposed lugs 8, aninternal shoulder 10 to provide a bearing for the lugs 8, and lugs 11,11 spaced to accommodate the lugs 8 and to limit the rotation of thesocket-interior while the lugs 8 are bearing against the shoulder 10.The said fixture body is also provided with a circular wall 12 havinganinternal diameter sufiicient to slip the outside of the lugs 8 and theheads of the binding screws 6 when conductors are attached to theterminals. The said Wall 12 extends substantially to the topy of thesocket body and covers the binding screws so as to prevent accidentalcontact between the binding screws and lock-nuts or other loose parts ofoutlet boxes and to prevent the binding screws from falling out if theybecome loose while the fixture is assembled.

The bottom of the fixture body 1 is provided with a circular recess 13 alittle larger in diameter than the center opening v9 and of sufficientdiameter to receive the end of the socket cover 2. The said socket coveris provided with an intern al thread 14 to screw onto the screw-shell 4and a shoulder 15 adapted to bear against the end 16 of the fixture bodysothat when the socket-interior is placed in the fixture body and thesocket cover is screwed onto the screwshell ofthe socketinterior asillustrated in Fig. 8, the lugs 8 of the socket-interior will be drawnfirmly against the shoulder 10Y of the fixture body. The diameter of theend 16 of the fixture body is larger than the diameter of the adj acentportion of the socket cover 2 so that when the parts are assembled anexternal shoulder 17 is provided for the engagement of a shade ring 18as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The fixture body 1 is provided with an upturned rim 19 to provide abearing against the ceiling and a space 2O Within ythe rim to Eliaccommodate the projecting edges of outlet boxes. The upper surface ofthe fixture body between the wall 12 and the rim 19 is provided with anumber of pairs of circular recesses 21, 21l separated from the oppositesurface of the body by a thin web 23. Each pair of these recesses areoppositely disposed about the center axis of the fixture body and spacedapart at a different distance from each other in order to provide aplurality of standard spacings for supporting screws to correspond withthe spacings of the threaded lugs commonlyprovided on different outletboxes. The actual spacing of each pair of recesses is indicated byfigures moulded into the fixture body near each recess to indicate thecenter to center spacing between each recess and the oppositeone. Forexample, Fig. 4 illustrates. a fixture body having four pairs of recesses spaced, center to center of pairs, 31/2, 2%, .S3- and 25/3respectively, these dimensions being well known standard spacings onoutlet boxes in general use.

The fixture is preferably furnished with a pair of supporting screws 22,.22 and the recesses 21 vare -of a diameter greater than the body ofthese screws but smaller than the head thereof so .that when a workmanwishes to install the fixture on any given outlet box he merely selectsthe pair of recesses marked with the spacing of the threaded lugs on thesaid boxand uses the attaching screws 22 to push out the thin web 23 ofthe pair of recesses to be used. He then inserts the screws 22 from thebottom of the fixture through the holes thus provided in order to fastenthe `xture body to vthe outlet. The great importance of the figuresindicating the spaces lies in the fact that if the webs 23 are pushedout of the wrong recesses the fixture is spoiled for use in the placefor which it is intended. The spacingsof the threaded lugs on dierenttypes of outlet boxes are well known to electrical workmen and areIsufficiently well standardized so that the workman glancing .at the boxcanv tell from its general sizeand appearance which spacings to use. Inmany cases the boxes are so deep in the plaster that the lugs could notbe measured accurately and the means 1 have provided for enabling the.workmanl to quickly select the right pair of Arecesses .to be used istherefore of great importance. The fact that these figures are mouldedwhen the recesses are moulded prevents any possibility of error inmanufacture and Aspoilavge resulting therefrom. l

The said recesses 21 may therefore be considered .as knock-out recessesor push-out recesses. The method of forming .each recess is the same asdescribed in my co-pending application Serial No. 25,987 of April 27th,1925.

The fixture body 1 is formed of moulded insulating material with theparts, openings 5 and recesses 9, 10, 11, 12, 18 and 16 formed in themoulding thereof. The socket cover 2 is also of moulded insulatingmaterial with the thread 14 and the shoulder 15 formed in the mouldingthereof. v

The simplicity with which my lightingfix- 4ture may be installed on anelectric outlet spacing of the tapped holes in the outlet box.v

The fixture body is then attached tothe out let box by using theattaching screws in the position illustrated in Fig. 2. All of theunused pairs of knock-out recesses 21 remain invisible. The greateconomy of this construction is emphasized by the fact that a greatvariety of holes for .attaching the .fixture are thus renderedeasily-available without the necessity for providing additional parts tocover the members so supported in order to hide openings not used.

When it is desired to use a shade 25 the socket cover 2 is first slippedthrough -av center opening in the shade from the inside and a lring 18,which is also preferably moulded of insulating material, is slipped overthe outside of the socket cover. The socket cover 2 is then screwed-onto the screw-shell as far as it will go.

The length of the-shade ring 18 is so pro-v portioned to the length ofthe socket cover 2 and the thickness of the shadepthat when the socketcover is screwed up as described the shade ring will fit loosely betweenthe shoulder 17 and the top of the glass shade. The shade is thereforeheld in position between the flange 25 of the ring 18 and the flange 27of the socket cover 2 but not tightly enough to cause breakage of aglass shadev from expansion. Though loosely held, any noticeabledisarrangement of the shade will be prevented by engagement of the end26 of the ring 18 with theshoulder 17. One of the advantages of makingthe parts of moulded insulating material as described is that goodcommercial accuracy is obtainable in quantity production so that it ispractical to furnish my fixture with the dimensions of the differentparts so definitely related Vto the common. thickness of glassware thatall breakage due to over-tightening of shade holders is avoided.

rIhe new methods of construction herein described are adaptable to manyvariations to meet different requirements and my invention thereforeincludes all devices in which the construction or assembly of partsincludes what I claim as new, which is:

1. An electric lighting lixture comprising, a plate of mouldedinsulating material adapted to cover an outlet box, said plate having aperipheral flange to space the same from a wall in which an outlet boxto be covered thereby is disposed, means for attaching the plate to anoutlet box, selectively spaced knock-out portions integral with saidplate which on selected removal provide openings for the passage of saidattaching means through said plate, said plate having an integraltubular wall centrally intersecting the main body thereof so as toextend above and belo-w the same, said tubular wall having an internalannular shoulder intermediate its ends, a lamp socket member having ascrewshell Contact adapted to be inserted within the confines of theupper end of said tubular wall and stopped against the upper side ofsaid shoulder with its screw shell contact eX- tending downwardly beyondsaid shoulder and exteriorly of the lower end of said tubular wall,means to prevent rotation of said socket member relative to said tubularwall, and an internally threaded socket cover of moulded insulatingmaterial adapted to be screwed onto said screw-shell contact intostopped engagement with the under side of said shoulder to therebyinterlock the plate and socket member in operative assembled relation.

2. An electric lighting fixture as characterized in claim 1, in whichsaid socket cover is provided at its lower free end with an outwardlyprojecting annular flange upon which a shade may be supported insuspension therefrom, and an external sleeve lo'osely slidable on saidsocket cover above said flange and adapted to be immovably engagedbetween a shade and the lower margin of the tubular wall of said platewhen said socket cover is in place to thereby retain said shade againstdisplacement from operative assembled relation to the fixture.

Signed at New York, N. Y., on this 9th day of August, 1926.

ERNEST CANTELO WHITE.

